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Session Ends with More Discouraging News for Taxpayers
Legislative update from Senator Keith Goehner
information released

Friends and Neighbors,

While I was still at the Capitol someone asked whether, as a fruit
grower, IrCOm an optimist like so many others in our staterCOs agricultural sector. My answer was yes rCo but looking back on what came out of this yearrCOs legislative session, which ended March 12, it isnrCOt easy to be optimistic about where our state is heading.

Start with the new state income tax. Washington has done fine without
one for more than 90 years, yet the supporters went ahead and pushed it through in just six weeks. Even worse, they wrote the bill in a way that prevents the people from challenging the tax through a voter referendum,
as our state constitution allows.

Also, OlympiarCOs spending is still way out of control. The updated
operating budget, passed with one of the sessionrCOs final votes, pushes spending over the $80 billion mark. For comparison, the budget in place
during my first session in Olympia (2019) was $45.2 billion. ThatrCOs a whopping 77% spending increase in seven years, when population growth
during that span has been less than 15%, based on statistics kept by the
state budget office.

There were bright spots from this 60-day session, of course. Several of
the bills I introduced or co-sponsored will become law, and I was glad
to secure money in the updated capital budget for important community/infrastructure projects in our district. Details are below,
along with information about some of the more notable legislation from
the session.

IrCOm happy to be back home. This is a particularly beautiful time of year
in the 12th District, and besides, thererCOs a lot of work to be done in
the orchard. Just remember IrCOm your senator all the time, not just when werCOre in Olympia, so say hello if you see me out and about.

As always, please reach out whenever you have questions or need help
dealing with a state agency. My email is keith.goehner@leg.wa.gov and my Senate office phone number is 360-786-7622.

Sincerely,
Goehner
Keith Goehner, 12th Legislative District
Washington State Senate

cap budget map

From Monroe to Manson and beyondrCa capital budget aids local communities
The staterCOs capital budget is historically the smallest of the three
state budgets rCo but it is also known for producing some very visible results.

Out of the $890 million appropriated in this yearrCOs supplemental capital budget, our 12th District delegation secured $32 million in projects. As
I put it in the statement we issued after the final vote, this is truly
a budget for all of our district, with investments from one end (like
$141,000 for the Sultan Main Street lighting project) to the other (such
as $100,000 for improvements to the Manson Grange). Those and more are depicted in the map above, which offers a sense of how the capital
budget is good for all of Washington.

Also on the list for our communities:

Monroe Correctional Complex, domestic water and HVAC systems: $13.8 million Skykomish school construction: $6 million
Echo Glen secure facility improvements: $1.7 million
Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank: $1.28 million
Monitor Park Farmworker Housing: $1 million
Middle Fork Snoqualmie land transfer: $900,000
Performing Arts Center infrastructure: $716,000
Lake Chelan Senior Center structure improvements: $548,000
Old Swim Hole revitalization project: $393,000
Snoqualmie Tribal Police Station: $360,000
Chelan River Heights, affordable housing project: $258,000
CAFE: Community Multi-Service Community Center: $258,000
Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council Commercial Kitchen: $252,000
Wenatchee Crail Cottages: $248,000
BSG gymnasium restroom project: $113,000
Riverside Park picnic shelter: $40,000
Chelan Library improvement project: $21,000

C WA home builders

As a member of the Senate Housing Committee I am particularly interested
in the opinions and concerns of those in our staterCOs construction
sector. My visit this past month with representatives of the Central Washington Home Builders Association was very informative.


More taxes and fees wonrCOt make living in Washington more affordable
The previous yearrCOs legislative session was the most expensive in state history, producing a $12.3 billion package of new and higher state and
local taxes in response to a budget shortfall that was realistically
around $7 billion.

I had opposed that plan and instead sponsored a conservative but
unsuccessful approach that also eliminated the budget gap, but without increasing any tax or cutting anyone off of services.

Rather than recognize how Washington has become unaffordable, and give taxpayers a break this year, the majority side in Olympia went a
tax-and-spend route yet again. HererCOs the list of taxes that are new for 2026, not counting the income tax.

SB 5949 (Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett): Insurance-carrier tax
SB 6228 (Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle): Will increase health-care costs by raising cost of doing business for many pharmacies
SB 6231 (Sen. Frame): Increases costs for replacing data-center equipment
SB 6248 (Sen. Derek Stanford, D-Bothell): Travel-insurance tax
HB 1796 (Rep. Lisa Callan, D-Issaquah): Allows schools to take on more
debt without public vote
HB 1983 (Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend): Redefines rCLtimberlandrCY for real estate excise tax purposes
HB 2089 (Rep. Shaun Scott, D-Seattle): Tax on loan interest
HB 2385 (Rep. Nicole Macri, D-Seattle): Tax to expand Medicaid access
HB 2442 (Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek): Local-government tax authority
HB 2487 (Rep. Macri): Tax on insurance carriers
HB 2521 (Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane): Firearms background-check fees
HB 2681 ((Rep. Ormsby): Cannabis-license fees
ItrCOs also troubling that the amount of money appropriated in the new operating budget to our K-12 schools represents less than 43% of state spending. I donrCOt say that to suggest the schools are getting
shortchanged rCo the issue is priorities, because spending on programs and services not related to basic education is continuing to shoot up far
faster than the investment in K-12. This isnrCOt consistent with how
providing for education is state governmentrCOs paramount duty under our
state constitution.

WhatrCOs more concerning is how this new budget puts our state on track
for an enormous shortfall in the very near future. See the chart below
for how that could happen.

After eight sessions as a legislator IrCOm able to compare what I see in Olympia with what I saw in Wenatchee during my terms as a Chelan County commissioner. The obvious difference between the two levels of
government is a lack of spending restraint at our state capitol.

This year the budget choices are being portrayed as though they were
forced by spending reforms put in motion at the federal level. That just isnrCOt accurate rCo state spending has grown an average of 15% from one
cycle to the next for most of the past decade, regardless of whatrCOs happening in Washington, D.C.

upcoming deficit


Notable for the wrong reasons: new anti-sheriff law, income tax and more Between the Senate and House of Representatives, more than 1,200 bills
were introduced during our 60 days in Olympia. Because the Legislature
works in two-year terms, bills introduced in 2025 also could be brought forward for consideration in 2026 rCo and many were, such as my Senate
Bill 5467. It was passed by the Senate in 2025 but not the House; this session, after quickly flying through the Senate again, it won unanimous approval from the House, and will become law.

In all, 276 bills were passed by both chambers and sent to the governor. ThatrCOs around 22% of the total introduced this year, which is probably a pretty normal percentage. Besides, it shouldnrCOt be easy for legislation
to become law.

Having said that, here are some of the bills passed this session that
are notable for being controversial. All were introduced for 2026, and
more than a few seem to be partisan reactions to fears about the federal government. I didnrCOt support any of these, as they conflict with the majority of the emails and phone calls IrCOve received from 12th District residents:

SB 5855 (Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle): Prohibits local, state, and
federal law-enforcement officers from wearing masks while interacting
with the public, with certain exceptions.
SB 5892 (Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane): Prohibits county elections
offices from publishing voter-registration records; those must be
divulged only to the Secretary of State. Violations may be charged as a
Class C felony.
SB 5925 (Sen. Drew Hansen, D-Bainbridge Island): Large expansion of
state attorney generalrCOs power to demand documents from businesses, law-enforcement agencies, school districts, other entities covered by
laws related to wage laws, jail standards, and Keep Washington Working
Act compliance.
SB 5917 (Sen. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia): Allows distribution of state-purchased stockpile of chemical-abortion drugs (mifepristone and misoprostol) free of charge.
SB 5974 (Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek): Anti-sheriff. Allow the state Criminal Justice Training Commission, an unelected board appointed by
the governor, to decertify sheriffs, which has the effect of removing
them from office. This goes against the principle of local control and
may also put sheriffs in a conflicting position while enforcing state
law. However, they are also sworn to uphold the Washington State
Constitution and the United States Constitution, both of which preempt
state law.
SB 6081 (Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle): Involves privacy, including
the unauthorized disclosure of sex-designation information and historic sex-designation changes in official government records.
SB 6182 (Sen. Bateman): Tax on insurance plans to make up for $8 million
cut in funding to Planned Parenthood made by Democrats in 2025. All health-insurance plans must pay 82 cents for every covered life the
first year and 16.5 cents each year per covered life thereafter.
SB 6246 (Sen. Vandana Slatter, D-Bellevue): Adds additional regulatory requirements to rCLEmissions-intensive, trade-exposedrCY (EITE) facilities that have been required to lower their emissions on a schedule set by
the Climate Commitment Act.
The income-tax bill (SB 6346, also introduced by Sen. Pedersen) stands
out from the rest for many reasons.

ItrCOs been a very unpopular idea for many decades, with voters saying no
10 times since 1933, when the state Supreme Court threw out the only
other income tax ever approved. Also, Olympia doesnrCOt need the
additional $3.2 billion this tax is expected to bring in annually when collections begin in 2029. The problem is too much spending, not a lack
of revenue.

Supporters are marketing it as a tax on millionaires because the first
$1 million of taxable income will be exempt from the 9.9% tax. Married
couples donrCOt get a $1 million deduction each, however, so thatrCOs misleading and unfair. Also, that deduction should be viewed as
temporary rCo in future years, legislators may reduce or eliminate it with
a simple change to just one sentence. For proof, just look at the income
tax on capital gains; collection began in 2023 and by 2025 the tax had
already been increased.

When signing the income-tax bill March 30, the governor repeated the
claim that it will pay for free breakfast and lunch for all K-12
students in our state. The trouble is, SB 6346 makes a commitment to
early learning (5% of the expected revenue) but nothing similar for free meals. Most of the money generated by the income tax would go into the
general fund, which means it can be used for most anything.

with Sen. Bateman

The closing days of a session bring an extra layer of bipartisan work,
as committee leaders in the Senate confer across party lines about
changes the House made to legislation that came through our committees. ThatrCOs what had me visiting with Sen. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia and
chair of the Senate Housing Committee, a few days before we adjourned
for the year.


Session ends without action on citizen initiatives, so they go to the ballot Early during this legislative session, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs certified two initiatives to the Legislature. One deals with the
controversial issue of boys competing in girlsrCO sports in school. The
other focuses on parental rights in regard to students in schools.

Legislators have three options with initiatives to the Legislature: 1)
adopt the initiative as written, in which case it becomes law; 2) refuse
to pass it, which would result in the measure automatically being placed
on the statewide ballot in November; 3) propose and approve an
alternative initiative, in which case both the original initiative and
the alternative would both appear together on the ballot.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate decided against taking action
on either measure rCo including no public hearing on either. On Feb. 3, responding to the many citizens who expressed a desire to speak to
lawmakers, Senate Republican members held a listening session at the
Capitol on the two initiatives. House Republican members also held a
listening session that same day.

Because the Legislature did not take action on the two initiatives, they
will appear on the statewide ballot this fall.


April 9th, 2026
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